Plot
In Cold Blood tells the true story of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. The book is written as if it were a novel, complete with dialog, and is what Truman Capote referred to as "New Journalism" — the nonfiction novel. Although this writing style had been used before, the craft and success of In Cold Blood led to its being deemed the true masterwork of the genre. For Truman Capote, it was the last in a series of great works, which included Breakfast at Tiffany's, Other Voices, Other Rooms, and The Grass Harp. In Cold Blood was originally published in four parts in The New Yorker and then released as a novel in 1965. In Cold Blood took six years for Capote to research and write, and it took an incredible toll on Capote, personally — so much so that he never published another book again. In Cold Blood is said to have been his undoing.
The book tells the story of the murder of the Clutter family, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Clutter and their two teenage children, Kenyon and Nancy (two older daughters were grown and out of the house), and the events that lead the killers to murder. The family was living in Holcomb, Kansas, and in November 1959, they were brutally killed, with no apparent motive, by Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The family was discovered bound and shot to death, with only small items missing from the home. Capote read about the crime in The New York Times soon after it happened, and before the killers were caught, he began his work in Kansas, interviewing the people of Holcomb and doing extensive research with the help of his friend Harper Lee, who would go on to write the classic To Kill a Mockingbird.
Perry and Dick initially get away with the murder, leaving behind scant clues and having no personal connection with the murdered family. Capote explores the motive again and again within his text, eventually concluding that any real motive for the crime lays within Perry — his feelings of inadequacy, his ambiguous sexuality, and his anger at the world and at his family because of his bad childhood. Dick plays the role of true outlaw, but the impact of the killings weighs heavily on him, and his own role in the murders remains unexplained and unclear.
The townspeople of Holcomb and other friends of the Clutters are deeply affected by the murders. This includes Nancy's best friend, Sue, and Nancy's boyfriend, Bobby. The townspeople perceived the Clutters as the family "least likely" in the world to be murdered. Unable to conceive that the killers were strangers, many of them become suspicious of everyone and anxious about their own safety in the company of their neighbors. The man who heads the murder investigation, Al Dewey, becomes obsessed with both the murderers and the Clutter family. His need to find the killers becomes his driving force in life.
While the anxiety in Holcomb grows, the killers move on with their lives. The book follows Perry and Dick to Mexico and back, and incredibly, it seems that they might never be found out and brought to justice. Ultimately, a living witness who can tie the two men to the Clutters, footprints at the crime scene, and the possession of a pair of binoculars and a radio from the Clutter home become the pair's undoing. They are arrested and both confess to their part in the crime. They are tried for murder and convicted; after many years on death row, both men are hanged. During their time on death row, Perry slowly reveals his personal thoughts, his ambitions, and the motives that contributed to his life choices, including the fateful night he and Dick entered the Clutter home.
Herbert William Clutter
The head of the Clutter family, Herbert is 48 years old and owns a ranch. He provides well for his family and employs several ranch hands. He is a hard worker, a generous employer, a strict but fair father, and a faithful husband to his bedridden wife. He is a college graduate, having a degree in agriculture from Kansas State University, and a self-made man. He is the embodiment of the American Dream and the pinnacle of respect.
Bonnie Clutter
Wife of Herbert, mother of four, and bedridden with severe depression since the birth of her youngest, Bonnie is fragile, affectionate, and deeply ashamed of her condition. She is always cold, even in the summer, and her room is always heated. She collects miniature things and once studied to become a nurse. In the opening of the book, she has recently been given a sliver of hope for recovery by a doctor who suggested her condition may be the result of a "pinched nerve."
Nancy Clutter
Daughter of Bonnie and Herbert Clutter and described as the "town darling," Nancy is smart and beautiful, and she involved in the community. She is the class president, a leader of the 4-H program, a musician, and an excellent student. She is generous and kind to her friends and neighbors.
Kenyon Clutter
The youngest of the Clutter children at 15, Kenyon is a loner. He has one friend, who he no longer sees often because the friend has recently taken a girlfriend. Kenyon is highly intelligent and likes to build and modify electronic gadgets and other machines.
Perry Smith
One of the two murderers of the Clutter family, Perry grew up under difficult circumstances. He was abandoned by his family and severely abused by nuns (who he develops a life-long aversion to) and other caregivers. He has a reoccurring dream about a large bird that saves him from bullies, abusers, and anyone who might cause him harm. Perry is described as a small man, but very muscular in his upper arms and chest. His feet and legs, however, are small and delicate. This is one of Perry's many contradictions. He never passed the third grade, but as an adult he has an incredible thirst for knowledge, vocabulary, and literature. He is calm and gentle, and he seems to want love and acceptance, but he is eventually revealed to be the more brutal of the two men. One of his main motivations is to take Dick to Mexico, and to hunt for treasure and go skin diving. After the murders, Perry seems unable to reconcile his personal opinion of himself with the crimes he has committed. Perry also appears to have homosexual tendencies, which are revealed via his affections for both Dick and a former cell mate by the name of Willie-Jay.
Dick Hickock
One of the two murderers of the Clutter family, Dick is motivated by carnal impulses: lust, greed, vanity, and indulgence of any kind. He is the mastermind and instigator of the murders, having heard about a "big score" at the Clutter ranch. He is further motivated by the fact that there is a teenage girl in the house; Dick intends to rape her. After the murders, Dick shows no remorse or interest in discussing the crime; he remains focused on finding money and women, and avoiding capture. He is uneducated but very street-wise and charming; he is able to con shop owners and vulnerable women out of money and property. His friendship with Perry stems solely from a lie Perry told him in which he killed a man with a bicycle chain. Dick was amused by the story and had hoped to bring forth Perry's murderous nature again during the Clutter robbery.
Alvin Adams Dewey
Head of the Clutter murder investigation, Al Dewey had been a sheriff of Finney County and a Special Agent of the F.B.I. He becomes completely obsessed with the Clutter case, spending all of his emotional energy — sometimes at the cost his family — on solving the crime: The clues, leads, theories, and his general meditations on both the family and the crime. He admits to be "haunted" by the crime and he intends to continue his investigation until he finally understands why the Clutters were murdered. His motivation becomes the narrative, and the reader finds it equally imperative to continue reading to discover, finally, what actually happened.
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